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In the past 6 years, I have been doing the Authentic Male Journey alongside other men, and was the main focus of my university essays and researches.

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PTSD & Authentic M‍‍‍ale Journey 2

PTSD & CFMA

On the first blog about PTSD, it was outlined that it came from anxiety and is mostly common among war veterans. I highlighted the great work of Mate4Mates, showing the valuable common points between Equine Therapy and the Authentic Path.

In this blog the focus will be on the work that Centre for Men and Families Australia (CFMA)are doing with civilian men. Some of the men are suffering from PTSD without ever being in a war. That is when in a certain point in their lives (from childhood to adulthood) a traumatic event happens. As I said before, events like assault, accidents, nature disasters and relationship issues regardless of the age generates the symptoms.

Deeper Path of Transformation

CFMA is a community of men that prevents men from committing suicide or to practice any kind of harm towards others. In fact, CFMA uses their twisted behaviours and ways of thinking as a way to integrate themselves and lead them to a deeper path of transformation. I would say that CFMA deals with PTSD, anxiety, depression and with prevention of suicide, but the causes are different from Mates4Mates.

‘Normal events’ in life causes the inner fraction in one’s heart, generating PTSD. Basically, these events could happen at home done by the loved ones not knowing it would cause a trauma. That could be a father correcting a son, through a projection of the father’s own shame and fear, by being arrogant; or a mother being overly protective and caring, who ended up manipulating a son’s life, blocking a boy to live and feel his youth and healthy masculinity. In both cases, it causes the wound of the heart that will create ways of thinking and behaviours that form the personality of the man. Later in life, and if the wound of the heart does not find a healthy space to process its pain, the symptoms of PTSD might surface, alongside depression and anxiety.

Journey of Letting Go

CFMA consists of small men’s groups around Australia offering deep and meaningful companionship. It is a way of being there in the darkness and in the suffering of the other, allowing them to process the inner pain. By accepting each person where they are at, through empathy and with an unconditional positive regard, the men start to see themselves as they are and the ‘letting go’ of the trauma starts.

I am Felipe Oliveira, holder of a Masters in Counselling with almost six years of experience in the Authentic Male Journey myself. Feel free to contact me by mobile, e-mail or social media for an informal chat or to book a session.

CFMAis well known for the Men’s Rites of Passage. It is an intensive retreat where the men have the chance to face what they fear most, and learn through experience how to use the tool that has always been within them: his own heart. They learn how to feel It, and name what is going on inside. This is a very powerful experience advised for all kinds of psychological wound symptoms including PTSD. It initiates one into a path that may lead them to their True Selves.

I would say that CFMAsees PTSD (and other psychological disorders) as an invitation into a larger view of life. The invitation to awake to one’s True Self.

I have been doing this journey through these rites of initiation, and this process was the main target of my research papers during the Masters in Counselling. It evolved and captivated me to create a specific counselling framework for men, around the concept of the Authentic Male Journey.

Felipe Oliveira provides counselling for civil men facing PTSD. Click here to know more about his work. Or, please, continue reading this short article about PTSD among civilian who never been in war.